Tips for Dodging Taxes
A Satirical Guide by Shanshar Magazine
"Shanshar" No. 1 (1925)/from open access
As the nineteenth century gave way to the twentieth, a great wave of awakening surged through Kazakh intellectuals, sparking a passionate quest for knowledge. This outpouring of intellectual zeal led to an explosion of new magazines and newspapers being published in Kazakh, heralding the dawn of a new era in sharing culture. However, what these intellectuals wrote went beyond only spreading knowledge. Soon, a variety of publications emerged, covering topics like business, society, politics, art, and humor. Qalam invites you to explore snippets from Kazakh publishing culture and history, offering a glimpse into the important issues of the past.
In 1925, news spread that officials in the Turkestan Uezd had begun collecting a ‘hearth tax’ from poor farm laborers. The satirical magazine Shanshar reacted to this news in their first issue in their distinctive style.
Hey, farm laborers! Why are you exerting yourself here?
We are trying to warm up by letting steam off our buttocks.
Can’t you just make a fire and warm up?
Haven’t you heard? They collect taxes on smoke.
Oh, that’s why?
Shanshari
Kazakh for ‘sharp-tongued’ or ‘parasitoid wasp’ was a satirical magazine in the Kazakh language. It was published in Tashkent as an organ of the Central Committee of the Turkestan Communist Party, supplementing the newspaper Aq Jol (White Path).
